This chapter finishes setting up the story for Yang and Blake. They were the two most broken characters, so I focused on getting them on track first. There is a lot more to come for those two and I had to set them up for it. The next few chapters will be focused on Ruby and Weiss. Weiss hasn't been getting nearly enough attention, but I've been hinting at the problems she has to overcome. Ruby's fairly self-explanatory, given what little has actually come up about her. Anyway, enjoy this one.
The three girls returned to their cell after breakfast. "May I ask you a question, Blake?" Weiss asked. There were actually a few questions she had, as a result of Blake's interaction with Velvet.
Blake gave a slight nod "I'm assuming it's a White Fang related question." She said before allowing Weiss to ask her question.
"I suppose it is to some extent. But I'm more interested in you. If what you said to Velvet is true, then why are you putting so much blame on yourself? You were manipulated and blind to what was really going on." Weiss asked. In her mind, it was clear that Blake was a victim herself. She had good intentions initially and her commitment to her cause was abused.
"I asked Velvet to forgive me for hurting her. The forgiveness I was after, wasn't for the crimes I committed. Whatever my reasons for those crimes were, they still cannot be forgiven. I allowed them to happen so it is my fault, I only explained my actions to Velvet. So she would understand that I never wanted to hurt her." Blake answered. Her thinking was paradoxical. If she could justify her treatment of Velvet, then really she should have been able to justify her other actions in the same way. She didn't want to forgive herself for her crimes though, and she hoped Weiss wouldn't pick up on her flawed thinking and try to convince her otherwise.
It wasn't Weiss who pointed out the flaws in Blake's argument. She was still thinking over Blake's answer, so it was Ruby who responded. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If what you said to Velvet was really the White Fang talking, then the other things you did where the White Fang acting. They manipulated and used you, Blake. Blame them for what happened, you tried to stop it when you realized what was going on. You're another victim Blake."
Weiss was surprised, Ruby said exactly what she had been thinking. The only reason she didn't say it herself, was that Blake's story hit her close to home. As Blake was used to doing the White Fang's dirty work. Weiss was used in the same way, by her family. Hell, she disembowelled a man because her father wanted her to. She had never been too happy with the way her family was and the way her life was. But she had accepted that it was her reality. Maybe it was time for a change. After all, her family seemed to have abandoned her to her fate.
"How can anyone ever forgive what I did Ruby?" Blake asked when she realized what Ruby said. "I'm a terrorist, innocent people died because of me."
Ruby shook her head "You used that excuse to apologize to Velvet. If it's suddenly not a valid excuse for everything thing else. Then you must have meant what you said to Velvet when you were kids."
Blake felt anger rising within her. "I would never intentionally hurt Velvet. She doesn't deserve it." She slapped her hands over her mouth. When she realized she had just validated Ruby's point.
Ruby smiled. Blake had walked right into it. "So you wouldn't intentionally kill innocent people. Look at the mess it turned you into. The real you wouldn't dream of killing innocent people. Stop blaming yourself, Blake. It's people like that Adam guy, they're the ones to blame."
That was exactly what Blake had been dreading. She was such a hypocrite. She blamed Raven Branwen for Yang's actions but didn't blame Adam for her own actions. At that point, she couldn't keep blaming herself. "You're right Ruby, but my failure still allowed Adam to blow up that train. I wasn't good enough."
Weiss was still conflicted about her family. It was a lot to lose if she left, and she wasn't going to rush to a conclusion. Anyway, she wanted to help Blake overcome her own struggle. Not something Weiss would normally do, but the parallels between herself and Blake was clear to see. She also liked Blake, which was another rare thing for her. "You still tried, you did everything you could." She said, offering as much advice as she felt she could.
Before Blake could respond to Weiss, Ruby spoke again. "You can't bring those people back, but there are things you can do. You can help Ilia leave the White Fang, help the police stop the White Fang, and maybe you can help clear my name."
Blake had already intended to do those things. Though she now realized that being as guilt-ridden as she was. Doing those things would be much harder. She would still carry the weight of the deaths, but she would stop blaming herself so much. That's what she needed to do, in order to prevent those deaths from being in vain. They would be the driving force in her quest for justice. "I will Ruby. I will." She promised.
It was then that Officer Nikos announced her presence. "That's great to hear Blake, I was hoping you'd come around." She said.
The girls all looked at her. "How much did you hear?" Blake asked. She hadn't said anything that she needed to hide from Officer Nikos. But she was slightly confused by the way the officer responded to her promise to Ruby.
"I'd say just about all of it. I'm honestly surprised you didn't notice me." Officer Nikos replied with a smile on her face.
"What are you doing here Officer Nikos?" Ruby asked. She hoped it was to deliver news about Yang. Hopefully, she would find out when her sister would be returning.
"I've had an interesting morning with your missing cellmate. I'd like to talk to the three of you about her." Officer Nikos explained.
"That doesn't sound good Officer Nikos," Weiss responded. She hoped Yang would be returning soon. She would need her protection whether she remained loyal to her family or not.
"Well, it's good news for me, and probably for the three of you as well. It's not so good for your enemies though. If this wasn't what I wanted, I'd almost feel sorry for them." Officer Nikos replied. Still maintaining her smile and friendly demeanour.
"What did you do to Yang?" Blake asked. Well aware that Yang had hated Officer Nikos yesterday. So something must have happened to her if she was doing something for the officer.
"We had a nice conversation. Once she stopped hurting herself and trying to break out. She listened to reason, changed her way of thinking, and now we're working together on something." Officer Nikos replied.
"How did you manage that? I knew she had something going on in her head yesterday. But working with you seems a little far out. Given her attitude." Weiss was certainly curious. She'd had to talk Yang into being civil with Officer Nikos. But now the two women were in collusion.
"Exactly what I already said. It turns out that Yang and I have some common enemies. I'm not in a position to act directly, but Yang can. You'll be seeing a lot more of me soon, and Yang will be returning shortly." Officer Nikos explained.
"Why are you telling us about this? Surely you want to keep that secret, and you don't know you can trust us." Weiss stated.
"Who's going to believe you if you tell anyone? My coworkers won't and the other inmates won't believe that Yang agreed to anything. Anyway, do you really want to risk getting on mine or Yang's bad sides?" Officer Nikos asked.
"As long as the three of us are safe, I don't have any intention of doing so. So, are we safe?" Weiss asked.
Officer Nikos nodded "About as safe as you already were. But as our plan plays out, this place and Vale as a whole. Will become much safer."
Weiss was pleased with the officer's response. "Then you don't have to worry about me saying anything." She told her.
"This sounds dangerous, but I guess I'll go along with it," Ruby said. "But please don't get Yang killed, I need her."
Officer Nikos smiled at her "Your sister is no pushover Ruby. With my help, she'll be fine."
"She told you about that?" Ruby asked. Surprised to hear Yang referred to in such a way.
"Yes, she did. You know she cares about you, and you're one of the reasons she changed her mind and agreed to work with me." Officer Nikos said before turning to Blake. "What about you? You're another reason for Yang's decision and the way you've changed your tune. Means that this agreement should be beneficial to you."
Blake didn't know how to feel. Clearly there had been some kind of positive change to Yang, and she was partially responsible. But Yang was now throwing herself into something clearly wasn't going to be too good for her. She knew how strong Yang was though and it also seemed that she would be going against the White Fang. "I'm in, but please don't let Yang get herself killed."
Officer Nikos smiled. "Thank you, Blake, you won't regret it. Also, I promise to keep Yang as safe as possible. You aren't the only ones who care about her safety." She said before walking off.
"Depending on who you're going after, I may do more than just stay out of your way. Please enlighten me as to who these guilty people are." Officer Nikos said after Yang's outburst.
"I'm talking about my mom, the tribe, the White Fang, and that fucker who got Ruby put away," Yang responded. Her speech reflecting her anger and hatred.
"Excellent, now that we're on the same page. I can get to what this is really about." Officer Nikos responded. She was clearly pleased with Yang's chosen targets.
"Alright. What the fuck is going on? How are you okay with this and what do you really want?" Yang question. She was incredibly confused by the change in Officer Nikos, and why she was being so mysterious.
"Allow me to tell you a story, Yang. Then we can get down to business." Officer Nikos said. The smile on her face slightly wavering.
"Go ahead. Just stop messing with me and get to the point." Yang said. Getting annoyed at Officer Nikos for taking so long to reach her point.
"Before I worked here, I was a cop. One day there was a call about suspicious activity, so my partner and I went to take a look." Officer Nikos sighed heavily. "We interrupted a meeting between a number of dangerous criminals. Your Mother, Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus, and Cinder Fall."
Yang raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know about any meeting. Mom didn't work with other people. I don't know who two of those people are, but she definitely wouldn't work with the White Fang." She used to be sure. But now she didn't know what to believe about Raven.
"Whatever you may think. The meeting happened. My partner and I interrupted it. We got into a firefight and Jaune got hit. He wasn't just my partner, he's my fiancee. He's in a coma thanks to the people at that meeting." Officer Nikos said as she clenched her fists.
"Sorry to hear that. But what's that meeting got to do with me and who are those other people?" Yang asked while trying to sound sympathetic.
"Roman Torchwick is a notorious crime lord. Cinder Fall is a less well-known crime lord, but she was leading the meeting. I want you to go after them and their organizations, and I want you to bring them down." Officer Nikos paused for a moment. "I've read up on Ruby's case, and I believe it was Torchwick who framed her. He must have paid people off to get her put away."
Yang didn't need to hear anymore. She had already planned to take out three of those people, and she had enough reasons to do it. She would happily add Cinder to her list. "I'll do it. I'll kill everyone they have and then I'll kill them too. I'm going to need more than just names though."
Officer Nikos nodded "Thank you. I'll help you in any way I can. I'll inform your cellmates, so they understand what's going on. As long as they're trustworthy." she said before preparing to leave.
"What does this make us? We are in this together after all." Yang asked. Things between them had rapidly changed. She wasn't sure what their relationship was now that they were working together.
Officer Nikos smiled at her "I'm not sure. But you can call me Pyrrha as long as there are no other guards around."
There we go. Blake and Yang are on the same page to some extent, Pyrrha's been hiding a lot, and now it's Ruby and Weiss' turn. Next chapter will be out ASAP. Mainly because this has been dominated by two characters, and I may have taken too long (At least for one person) to get Blake to the point she's at. Anyway, don't worry if you don't like the way certain characters are at the moment. I've actually planned out their development, unlike that monstrosity that I wrote before this. Bye.